Friday, January 28, 2011

j + m

One of the best parts about college was the magical appearance of foreign foods. Jax cooked a Fillipino dish with chayote squash. Chayote squash:

The texture reminds me of either an unripe pear or an apple. The flavor is subtle and respondes well to citrus. Instead of putting it on a taco, it also would make for a very nice, unique side/vegetable dish.

cotija cheese - this is a salty crumbly cheese somewhere in between parmesan and feta but with its own unique flavor.
chopped cilantro
adobo chile tomatillo salsa (recipe below) or toasted guajillo chile salsa or pico de gallo

Dry the potato shavings in a potato ricer or with clean kitchen towels. Drying the potatoes makes for better crispifying.

Take chorizo out of casing and heat over medium heat in a sauce pan. Break up chorizo with a wooden spoon. Heat til almost cooked. Add potato and onion. Continue cooking until potato is cooked as desired. I liked the potato browned in spots, like hashbrowns.

While the chorizo/potato mixture is cooking, heat olive oil in a separate pan on medium heat. Cook squash until just softened (3-5 minutes). Squeeze with lime juice and add minced garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

2 cans chiles en adobo (I used only one can and it had a nice little kick without being overpowering)

1/4 c water

Split each tomatillo in half. Place cut side down in a pan over medium heat. Place garlic in pan. Heat til the tomatillos are caramelized and soft (3-4 minutes). Repeat on other side. Flip garlic as well.

Blend tomatillos and chiles en adobo in food processor ﻿with the water. Note, more or less water can be added depending on your desired salsa consistency. I didn't use any water and liked the thicker consistency.